Latest news with #HuonAquaculture
ABC News
02-06-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Salmon company Huon used tonne of antibiotics in bacterial outbreak, EPA report finds
Samples of wild fish caught near a Huon Aquaculture lease in February were found to have antibiotic residue levels up to a dozen times higher than the threshold for commercially sold salmon, according to an Environment Protection Authority (EPA) report. The interim report monitoring Huon's antibiotic use was completed by environmental consultants Aquenal. According to the report, 1,133 kilograms of the antibiotic Oxytetracycline (OCT) was administered via fish feed at Huon's Zuidpool lease between February 13 and February 26 this year. In February, a mass mortality event caused by the bacterial pathogen Piscirikettsia salmonis devastated salmon farms in the D'Entrecasteaux Channel, south of Hobart. Between January and March, the death of more than 13,500 tonnes of salmon was reported to the EPA by the three major salmon companies operating in the state. By late February, Huon's Zuidpool lease had begun to draw public and media attention after the Bob Brown Foundation released drone footage showing workers at the lease putting live salmon into tubs along with dead stock. Oily globules made of salmon fat began washing up along beaches on the channel, which were found to contain low levels of antibiotics. According to the Australian New Zealand Food Standard Code, salmon destined for sale must comply with an antibiotic maximum residue limit (MLT) of 0.2 milligrams per kilogram. The report said eight samples of wild fish were taken in the Zuidpool North lease, with three samples — all blue mackerel — testing above the reporting threshold. It found one sample site with wild fish showing "relatively high" antibiotic residue levels of up to 2.4 milligrams per kilogram, or 12 times higher than the maximum antibiotic threshold for commercially sold salmon. In a statement, Tasmanian Public Health Director Mark Veitch said the results were consistent with estimates used in a Food Safety Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) risk assessment. "These samples were collected in late February 2025, in the days after the period of [antibiotic] dosing ended, when antibiotic residue was most likely to be present in fish and the environment." The report also tested at Zuidpool South, with no samples returning antibiotic residue levels above the limit of reporting. Samples were also taken at five locations several kilometres from the Zuidpool salmon pens. One of those sites, Ventenat Point on Bruny Island, recorded noticeably elevated antibiotic levels in blue mackerel that was sampled. Verona Sands, Jetty and Conleys Beach on Bruny Island, and Roaring Beach near Surveyors Bay were also sampled for antibiotic levels. Aquenal said the results of those surveys will be released "in subsequent reports". The EPA will release a final report with all sample results after the monitoring program finishes. It raised concerns that prolonged exposure to antibiotic treatment could result in resistant bacterial strainers that were more difficult to treat. This year the EPA would not disclose how much antibiotic was being used by Huon, citing commercial in confidence. "If individuals are concerned at all about potentially having antibiotics in wild fish, then of course they can choose to fish further away from the [affected] lease," former EPA Tasmania director Wes Ford said at the time. Antibiotics have been commonly used by salmon companies to treat bacterial diseases. However, the EPA said antibiotic treatment has declined since 2009 due to the development of vaccines. In 2022, Tassal used 675 kilograms of the same antibiotic to treat a vibrio outbreak at its Sheppards lease off the coast of Coningham. Three flathead caught 2 kilometres from the lease were also found to contain more than the reportable threshold of antibiotics in their flesh that same year.
Sydney Morning Herald
06-05-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Labor romped home in Tassie. The PM's salmon move worked
Tasmanian voters have endorsed Labor's shift to protect salmon jobs from environmental challenges, as the government claimed two fresh Tasmanian seats, retained two others and locked the opposition out of lower house seats entirely. But the politics of salmon farming continue to carve a course through the south of the state, with anti-salmon candidate Peter George coming second on preferences to Labor's Fisheries Minister Julie Collins. Salmon farming pens that proliferate along Tasmania's south-east and west coasts are owned by eight companies including foreign-owned giants Huon Aquaculture, Petuna and Tassal. The $1.8 billion industry made national and international headlines when a 'mass mortality' event over summer caused by a bacterial outbreak killed more than a million fish, and led to chunks of salmon carcasses and oil globules washing up on beaches near the pens. After salmon workers were filmed shovelling still-writhing fish from diseased pens, and sealing the lids closed, the RSPCA revoked its certification for Huon Aquaculture salmon. No Tasmanian salmon is now certified as meeting the authority's animal welfare standards. As negative headlines grew, so too did industry concern for the more than 5000 workers it says rely on the industry (estimates vary between 1700 and 5100), and for the wider impacts losing the $1.3 billion industry could cause in the state. In March, the day before Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called the federal election, Labor and the Opposition joined forces in the Senate to pass amendments to federal environment laws. Those changes put a line under Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek's formal reconsideration of the 2012 expansion of salmon farming in Macquarie Harbour – in the electorate of Braddon – at the request of environmental groups.
The Age
06-05-2025
- Business
- The Age
Labor romped home in Tassie. The PM's salmon move worked
Tasmanian voters have endorsed Labor's shift to protect salmon jobs from environmental challenges, as the government claimed two fresh Tasmanian seats, retained two others and locked the opposition out of lower house seats entirely. But the politics of salmon farming continue to carve a course through the south of the state, with anti-salmon candidate Peter George coming second on preferences to Labor's Fisheries Minister Julie Collins. Salmon farming pens that proliferate along Tasmania's south-east and west coasts are owned by eight companies including foreign-owned giants Huon Aquaculture, Petuna and Tassal. The $1.8 billion industry made national and international headlines when a 'mass mortality' event over summer caused by a bacterial outbreak killed more than a million fish, and led to chunks of salmon carcasses and oil globules washing up on beaches near the pens. After salmon workers were filmed shovelling still-writhing fish from diseased pens, and sealing the lids closed, the RSPCA revoked its certification for Huon Aquaculture salmon. No Tasmanian salmon is now certified as meeting the authority's animal welfare standards. As negative headlines grew, so too did industry concern for the more than 5000 workers it says rely on the industry (estimates vary between 1700 and 5100), and for the wider impacts losing the $1.3 billion industry could cause in the state. In March, the day before Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called the federal election, Labor and the Opposition joined forces in the Senate to pass amendments to federal environment laws. Those changes put a line under Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek's formal reconsideration of the 2012 expansion of salmon farming in Macquarie Harbour – in the electorate of Braddon – at the request of environmental groups.
ABC News
26-04-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Economic saviour or environmental problem? Tasmania's Huon community divided over salmon farming
Ros and Brett Hickey have run a roadside café about 50 kilometres south of Hobart for almost two decades. While some of their customers are tourists, the majority work in salmon farms in the Huon Valley region. Ms Hickey said without their patronage, the Port Huon Trading Post café — and many other businesses in the area — would struggle to survive. "They're very, very important because we've lost our logging industry pretty much, and there's not a lot else around," she said. The couple says the region has already lost the logging industry. ( ABC News: Luke Bowden ) Photo shows Salmon farm location map 4 Those black, circular things floating in the water off the Tasmanian coastline? They are salmon farms. Here is how many there are — and who owns them. While the salmon industry has many supporters in the region, it has also been the subject of significant controversy in recent months. First came Oily fish globules then started As the industry dealt with the fallout, footage secretly recorded by environmentalists showed It prompted the RSPCA to Supporting livelihoods Nathan Rowe is confident the industry has a strong future in a region where many rely on it for work. ( ABC News: Luke Bowden ) Nathan Rowe, a veteran of Tasmania's salmon industry, said the negative coverage has had an impact on workers. "Absolutely, it affects people," he said. "People want to be seen to be working in an area where they can be proud. "I think a lot of people are concerned of what may happen in the salmon industry." Mr Rowe works at one of Huon Aquaculture's hatcheries in the Huon Valley. Mr Rowe works at one of Huon Aquaculture's hatcheries . ( ABC News: Luke Bowden ) Photo shows A man with silver hair sits on a chair in a restaurant This chef vows he'll never serve it — why is the salmon industry so divisive in Tasmania? In his view, the recent events were aberrations in an otherwise sustainable industry. "After 20 years of working for Huon, I've seen nothing but improvement in terms of animal welfare, [and] in our responses to global warming," he said. Mr Rowe is confident the industry has a strong future in a region where many rely on it for work. "If we didn't have that industry down here, we would lose our takeaways, our cafes, and lots of other community things [like] the footy team," he said. The salmon operations around Port Huon are crucial to some local businesses. ( ABC News: Luke Bowden ) "We've certainly got challenges to face moving forward in the environment. "But I feel that the salmon industry is a big part of Tasmania. "It's a pristine environment to grow a pristine product and I think we can be very proud of that product from Tasmania." Tranquillity interrupted Jane Pash wants greater scrutiny on salmon farms' environmental impacts. ( ABC News: Luke Bowden ) Jane Pash has a very different view. For almost 30 years, her family has had a beach shack at Surveyors Bay, near the mouth of the Huon River. "It's just a way to be able to step aside from the chaos of busy lives and stresses and connect in a way that's becoming increasingly difficult," she said. Ms Pash's family has had a beach shack at Surveyors Bay for decades. ( ABC News: Luke Bowden ) But in her view, the tranquillity has been increasingly impacted by the expansion of nearby salmon farming operations, including boats that run day and night. "You can always hear the low hum [of the boats] when you are sleeping," she said. Her frustrations grew last month when the congealed fish globules began appearing on local beaches — and in the water she likes to swim in. "Certainly, the impacts on the environment, the ecosystems, the foreshore, are becoming more and more and more apparent now, which is of concern," she said. While Ms Pash acknowledges the many jobs the local industry supports, she wants greater scrutiny on its environmental impacts. Ms Pash noticed the fatty globules washing up on her local beach. ( ABC News: Luke Bowden ) "I think there needs to be a very drastic, very comprehensive inquiry into the operations," she said. She also wants increased monitoring of salmon farming, as well as alternative locations for salmon pens. "Move them to an area that's not going to impact the environment as much as it currently is," she said. Salmon Tasmania declined to comment for this story. The salmon industry has been the subject of significant controversy in recent months. ( ABC News: Luke Bowden )
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Anti-salmon protest fills beach amid mass farm deaths
When Peter George first set up a community group opposed to offshore salmon farming, it was lucky to get 30 people at protests. On Sunday at Verona Sands, a remote beach about one hour south of Hobart, some 2000 people voiced their disdain with the industry. Atlantic salmon farms in Tasmania's southeast are experiencing mass mortality, which in February resulted in 5500 tonnes of fish being sent to waste dumps. The state's environmental regulator has labelled the deaths unprecedented and is investigating farms and waste facilities for potential non-compliance with regulations. Vision of Huon Aquaculture workers sealing live fish in tubs has also prompted the RSPCA to investigate and suspend its certification of the company. Huon and industry body Salmon Tasmania have apologised for the incident, saying it does not represent best practice. The industry has also pledged to implement "changes" as a result of the mass deaths. The deaths are because of the disease Piscirickettsia salmonis, which scientists say isn't harmful to humans, as well as warmer-than-usual waters. Washed-up salmon residue, found at Verona Sands and elsewhere, was found to contain low levels of antibiotics used to treat the disease. The state's regulator says the level doesn't pose a risk to human or animal health but raises further questions about the antibiotic's presence in the environment. "There's a lot of concern and a lot of anger," Mr George said. "In the last 10 years it has gone from 'you're lucky to get 30 people on the beach' to getting (the numbers) yesterday. "It is so clear now that a large number of people ... are not prepared to tolerate what our industry does in our waters anymore. "That becomes anger when they see their beaches being polluted." Mr George, who founded Neighbours of Fish Farming, is running as an independent at the upcoming federal election in the seat of Franklin, held by Labor. Author Richard Flanagan urged people to make their thoughts known at the ballot box. "We want to make this a federal election issue. You can't be anti-salmon and vote Liberal or Labor," he told the protest. Salmon farming is also under the spotlight at Macquarie Harbour on Tasmania's west coast. Licences in the harbour are being reviewed after a challenge by conservationists who want to safeguard an endangered fish. Tasmania's governing Liberals and Labor opposition support the salmon industry, which the government says directly employs about 2000 people. Both parties at federal level have said they want it to continue in Macquarie Harbour. Premier Jeremy Rockliff said he believed a "great majority" of Tasmanians supported the industry.
